Ho Ho Ho
Thank you to everyone who sent me texts, my mobile is out of credit so I could not reciprocate but I was bouncing goodwill wishes back at you! :)
Ah, what an utterly glorious few days it's been!
On Saturday afternoon I decamped for Natasha's house where we spent the day eating and drinking a lot, attempting to teach me things about the Yug Music Scene, and watching lots of old Yug films (because I have been living up until now a deprived life, and there's been all these fun things happening that I knew nothing of.
The food was terrific, and the booze potent and the company wonderful, and pretty much the only downside (beyond the rowdy Polish neighbours upstairs)was me getting a fishbone wedged somewhere in the roof of my mouth and spending the next 5 hours attempting to dislodge it through a mix of coughing and folk remedies (lemon juice, walnut vodka, peppermint tea, bread) and nothing seemed to work, but my stomach bore up gamely beneath the onslought of ethanol and clashing flavours.
It was all marvellous, and I even got a pair of long beaded earrings, and then somewhere around the region of 11pm we came to the general consensus that both Ziko and I would spend the night since there was enough space to accomodate us both and the next day we were meant to be going to his abode anyway.
We made a courageous stab at watching the Manchurian Candidate but the warmth, and the liquor and the languor of being stretched cat-like on the sofa all conspired against me, I stumbled to consciousness only long enough to undress and get into bed.
Had entirely weird dreams of massive earthquakes, and being chased by bears, which were probably a great deal influenced by the fact that the Poles upstairs appeared to be doing the foxtrot, polka and the kazachok above our heads.
Best comedy moment of the night was probably Ziko dressed in the T-shirt Natasha lent him to sleep in, as it clung to him like a second skin.
I slept as late, as the fiends upstairs would allow with thier all-night jumping jacks (queue early morning conversation-
N: Those people are vampires.
Z: They are bloody bastards. Vampires are genteel, delicate creatures in comparison to them)
and then courtesy of Z's car off we went! to Barnet aka Lapland.
Ziko appears to have a mad (but undoubtedly useful) ability to produce enough body heat to survive coatless in Siberia, but Natasha and I being of more delicate constitutions shievered under blankets regardless of radiators and a merry fire in the grate. I believe it took me something like 10 hours to reach a point where I felt warm enough to crawl out from under the duvet and remove my cardigan.
We watched lots and lots and lots of films and ate mulled wine, and the cheese pie (gibanica), and the grilled aubergines with garlic and cheese and all in all, it's been a marvellous thing. Ziko dropped us back, and I tottered home gamely and unsteadily on my high heels, with my hair all astray grinning idiotically at all lifeforms within a three metre radius, which are all signs of a good time. ;)
I was reflecting as we drove back, how strange it's been to think that despite a few blips here and there, for the past year and a half I've been happy at a level I hadn't been since the first half of my second year of Uni (before there was a war). How odd and yet how marvellous it feels to be full of joy for the tiniest little things. Such as how the frost on the cars glittered in the moonlight, and turned into a net of stars.
Festive joy and much goodwill to one and all! :)
Ah, what an utterly glorious few days it's been!
On Saturday afternoon I decamped for Natasha's house where we spent the day eating and drinking a lot, attempting to teach me things about the Yug Music Scene, and watching lots of old Yug films (because I have been living up until now a deprived life, and there's been all these fun things happening that I knew nothing of.
The food was terrific, and the booze potent and the company wonderful, and pretty much the only downside (beyond the rowdy Polish neighbours upstairs)was me getting a fishbone wedged somewhere in the roof of my mouth and spending the next 5 hours attempting to dislodge it through a mix of coughing and folk remedies (lemon juice, walnut vodka, peppermint tea, bread) and nothing seemed to work, but my stomach bore up gamely beneath the onslought of ethanol and clashing flavours.
It was all marvellous, and I even got a pair of long beaded earrings, and then somewhere around the region of 11pm we came to the general consensus that both Ziko and I would spend the night since there was enough space to accomodate us both and the next day we were meant to be going to his abode anyway.
We made a courageous stab at watching the Manchurian Candidate but the warmth, and the liquor and the languor of being stretched cat-like on the sofa all conspired against me, I stumbled to consciousness only long enough to undress and get into bed.
Had entirely weird dreams of massive earthquakes, and being chased by bears, which were probably a great deal influenced by the fact that the Poles upstairs appeared to be doing the foxtrot, polka and the kazachok above our heads.
Best comedy moment of the night was probably Ziko dressed in the T-shirt Natasha lent him to sleep in, as it clung to him like a second skin.
I slept as late, as the fiends upstairs would allow with thier all-night jumping jacks (queue early morning conversation-
N: Those people are vampires.
Z: They are bloody bastards. Vampires are genteel, delicate creatures in comparison to them)
and then courtesy of Z's car off we went! to Barnet aka Lapland.
Ziko appears to have a mad (but undoubtedly useful) ability to produce enough body heat to survive coatless in Siberia, but Natasha and I being of more delicate constitutions shievered under blankets regardless of radiators and a merry fire in the grate. I believe it took me something like 10 hours to reach a point where I felt warm enough to crawl out from under the duvet and remove my cardigan.
We watched lots and lots and lots of films and ate mulled wine, and the cheese pie (gibanica), and the grilled aubergines with garlic and cheese and all in all, it's been a marvellous thing. Ziko dropped us back, and I tottered home gamely and unsteadily on my high heels, with my hair all astray grinning idiotically at all lifeforms within a three metre radius, which are all signs of a good time. ;)
I was reflecting as we drove back, how strange it's been to think that despite a few blips here and there, for the past year and a half I've been happy at a level I hadn't been since the first half of my second year of Uni (before there was a war). How odd and yet how marvellous it feels to be full of joy for the tiniest little things. Such as how the frost on the cars glittered in the moonlight, and turned into a net of stars.
Festive joy and much goodwill to one and all! :)